The Characterist

When you cannot ask for help, but desperately need it: Spooky Golden Girl edition.

Join Dr. Diana Naranjo and author Bianca Marais bringing Queenie of the Witches of Moonshyne Manor to therapy. As far back as Queenie can remember, she's felt like she's had to keep it all together for everyone's sake. But when her inability to ask for help or admit when she's been wrong threatens her coven's livelihood and home, she's forced to come to therapy and see if there is another way. This episode is for self-appointed control freaks everywhere...can you let go in order to let others in, and will that help you to experience real connection and love? Listen as Queenie grapples with these questions. Bio:   Bianca Marais is the author of the bestselling The Witches of Moonshyne Manor, as well as the beloved Hum If You Don't Know the Words and If You Want to Make God Laugh, and the Audible Original, The Prynne Viper.  She taught at the University of Toronto's School of Continuing Studies where she was awarded an Excellence in Teaching Award for Creative Writing. She’s the co-host of the popular podcast, The Shit No One Tells You About Writing, which is aimed at helping emerging writers become published.  Her forthcoming novel, A Most Puzzling Murder, will be out in April 2025. You can find her on Instagram at: biancamarais_author [https://www.instagram.com/biancamarais_author/#] and https://www.biancamarais.com/ Thanks to Aaron Walz for the jingle. For all your audio needs visit: walzmusic.com   Disclaimer: This podcast is for entertainment purposes only and should not be considered medical or psychological advice.  While the therapy strategies and techniques are real, the characters and scenarios presented are all fictional and belong to the author.  The content should not be used, relied upon, or substituted for any diagnostic or treatment purposes.  As always, if you think you may be suffering from a psychological or medical condition, please seek individualized care with a medical professional or you can contact the National Suicide Prevention & Mental Health Crisis Lifeline by calling or texting 988.

The true meaning of home: mothers, daughters, and the legacy they leave

Join Dr. Diana Naranjo and author Anamely Salgado Reyes bringing her beautiful Olivares family to therapy. For generations, the Olivares women have sought to control their daughters’ destinies, starting with their names. In life, Olvido constantly clashed with her carefree daughter. Then teenage Angustias discovered she was pregnant and left her mother’s home in search of her own. Ten years later, Felicitas finally meets her estranged grandmother and is terribly disappointed when Olvido is nothing like a grandmother should be. She is strict, cold, and…dead. Felicitas comes to therapy with anxiety about the many moves her mother has thrust upon her, her guilt about wanting something different than the life her mother has provided, and her secret: that she can talk to her recently deceased abuelita. Bio: Anamely Salgado Reyes grew up on both sides of the Mexico and Texas border. Currently based in the Rio Grande Valley, she writes about what she cherishes most: family, friendship and finding magic in everyday life. You can find her at: Instagram: @⁠https://www.instagram.com/anamelysalgado/# Thanks to Aaron Walz for the jingle. For all your audio needs visit: walzmusic.com   Disclaimer: This podcast is for entertainment purposes only and should not be considered medical or psychological advice.  While the therapy strategies and techniques are real, the characters and scenarios presented are all fictional and belong to the author.  The content should not be used, relied upon, or substituted for any diagnostic or treatment purposes.  As always, if you think you may be suffering from a psychological or medical condition, please seek individualized care with a medical professional or you can contact the National Suicide Prevention & Mental Health Crisis Lifeline by calling or texting 988.

A modern day Scrooge

Join Dr. Diana Naranjo and author Debra Lobel, bringing Frankie Scrooge to therapy. A modern twist on a classic favorite, Frankie, the great great great nephew of the renowned Scrooge comes to therapy with all the baggage and bitterness you can imagine. Join us as we help him unpack the past traumas of his own making and move toward redemption with his family. Bio: Debra Lobel is a retired software guru currently living in Oakland, California. She is currently working on memoirs about her varied experiences as a family advocate and caregiver. Debra recently created a business called Reinvent Your Life LLC to help people with special needs get the services they need and want. You can find her at: Instagram: ⁠@dalobel Thanks to Aaron Walz for the jingle. For all your audio needs visit: walzmusic.com   Disclaimer: This podcast is for entertainment purposes only and should not be considered medical or psychological advice.  While the therapy strategies and techniques are real, the characters and scenarios presented are all fictional and belong to the author.  The content should not be used, relied upon, or substituted for any diagnostic or treatment purposes.  As always, if you think you may be suffering from a psychological or medical condition, please seek individualized care with a medical professional or you can contact the National Suicide Prevention & Mental Health Crisis Lifeline by calling or texting 988.

A talisman to turn the shame into love

Join Dr. Diana Naranjo and author Ruth Marie Friedman who brings Frankie to therapy. Facing the loss of her brother to suicide, Frankie confronts the painful present, which, dredges up trauma and memories from the past. Armed with a talisman from childhood, a relic from The Healing Machine, we attempt to hold her shame, grief, and loss in an inanimate object to give her some distance and relief from the feelings. Bio: Ruth Marie Friedman was born in 1975 in Omaha, Nebraska. In 2007, She received her BA in Education and later an MA in English Education from The University of Nebraska – Lincoln. She taught composition, literature, and creative writing for ten years at Lincoln Public Schools before becoming a full-time novelist. Visiting libraries, playing on the prairies, and swimming in the rivers and lakes of Nebraska inspired the countless stories she’s written over the years. After having her youngest child, she left the classroom to pursue a career in fiction writing. Last fall she completed her debut novel, The Healing Machine. She lives in Lincoln, Nebraska with her partner, three children, and two dogs. She is currently working on her second novel, Coby. You can find her at: Instagram: ⁠ruth.marie.writes.fiction Thanks to Aaron Walz for the jingle. For all your audio needs visit: walzmusic.com   Disclaimer: This podcast is for entertainment purposes only and should not be considered medical or psychological advice.  While the therapy strategies and techniques are real, the characters and scenarios presented are all fictional and belong to the author.  The content should not be used, relied upon, or substituted for any diagnostic or treatment purposes.  As always, if you think you may be suffering from a psychological or medical condition, please seek individualized care with a medical professional or you can contact the National Suicide Prevention & Mental Health Crisis Lifeline by calling or texting 988.

Finding compassion for yourself through finding compassion for others

Join Dr. Diana Naranjo and author Seema Yasmin who brings Laylah to therapy. In a not-too-distant America, abortions are prosecuted and the right to choose is no longer an option. But best friends Laylah and Noor want to change the world. After graduating high school, they’ll become an OBGYN and a journalist, but in the meantime, they’re working on an illegal guide to abortion in Texas. But all of that is put in jeopardy when Laylah finds herself in the same situation that she has been fighting to protect. Fearing judgment and worse, she hides her situation from everyone, including her best friend. In session, we try to help Laylah find self-compassion for her own mistakes, and in turn, hopefully help her to be an even more empathetic physician in the future. Dr. Seema Yasmin is an Emmy Award-winning journalist, Pulitzer prize finalist and poet. She served as a disease detective in the Epidemic Intelligence Service after working as a hospitalist in London. Seema was a medical analyst for CNN from 2014-2021 and a science reporter at The Dallas Morning News where she covered Ebola, Zika and the rise of the anti-vaccine movement. The author of seven books and four upcoming books, her reporting appears in The New York Times, Rolling Stone, WIRED, Scientific American, and on the BBC, NBC and other news networks. Dr. Yasmin’s unique combination of expertise as a physician and journalist have been called upon by the Vatican, the Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues, the Aspen Ideas Festival, the Skoll World Forum, and the White House. Dr. Yasmin is director of the Stanford Health Communication Initiative, clinical assistant professor of medicine at Stanford University, and visiting professor of crisis management and communication at UCLA’s Anderson School of Management. She trained in journalism at the University of Toronto and in medicine at the University of Cambridge. Her debut young adult novel, Unbecoming, is the story of two Texas teens navigating friendship, family and faith in a post-abortion America. Follow her on insta: drseemayasmin [https://www.instagram.com/drseemayasmin/#] https://seemayasmin.com/ Thanks to Aaron Walz for the jingle. For all your audio needs visit: walzmusic.com   Disclaimer: This podcast is for entertainment purposes only and should not be considered medical or psychological advice.  While the therapy strategies and techniques are real, the characters and scenarios presented are all fictional and belong to the author.  The content should not be used, relied upon, or substituted for any diagnostic or treatment purposes.  As always, if you think you may be suffering from a psychological or medical condition, please seek individualized care with a medical professional or you can contact the National Suicide Prevention & Mental Health Crisis Lifeline by calling or texting 988.